It’s April, the weather’s still unpredictable, and yet... the Phillies and Mets are already circling each other like it’s October.
The Mets, riding high after a four-game sweep of the Cardinals, return home to Citi Field—where they’re 9-1, tied for the second-best home start in franchise history. And waiting for them Monday night? A Phillies team that’s 13-9, frustrated, and very much still leaking from the bullpen.
This will be the first meeting since last October, when the Mets bounced Philadelphia from the postseason and spent the winter reminding them of it. And now, here come the rematch vibes.
The Starters Are Set
Game 1: Tylor Megill (2-2, 1.40 ERA) has been sneaky good for New York. He’ll face Aaron Nola (0-4, 6.65), whose ERA currently has its own zip code.
Game 2: It’s newcomer Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.43) against Cristopher Sánchez (2-0, 2.96), who’s quietly become the Phillies' most reliable arm not named Wheeler.
Game 3: David Peterson (1-1, 3.27) takes the mound opposite former Met Zack Wheeler (2-1, 3.73), who’s allowed just three homers all year.
Meanwhile, In the Phillies’ Bullpen...
Here’s the number: 5.81. That’s the Phillies’ bullpen ERA after the latest late-inning implosion—a six-blown-save April, capped Sunday when Orion Kerkering served up a three-run shot in the eighth to Miami’s Javier Sanoja.
The Phillies’ relievers have allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in their last eight innings. And this is a group that ranked 14th in baseball last year. Now? Only the White Sox and Rockies have higher bullpen ERAs.
That said: the offense keeps punching. The Phillies scored three in the first on Sunday and clawed back to tie it late—again—before falling in extras, 7-5.
So now, it’s Mets vs. Phillies. Harper vs. Alonso. Familiar faces, fresh tension. A red-hot team, a scuffling bullpen, and some early-season spice between old rivals. What else could you possibly want on a Monday night in Queens?
Nola is Needed
It was cold. It was windy. The command was missing. And so was any sign that Aaron Nola might be turning a corner.
The Phillies’ longtime right-hander got tagged again Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, allowing seven runs (six earned) over 5 1/3 innings in an 11-4 loss to the Giants. That outing pushed his ERA to 6.65 through his first four starts — and gave fans another reason to dig through the archives in search of answers.
If this feels familiar, it should. Nola’s had stretches like this before. But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch. In the first inning alone, he loaded the bases, lost the zone, and walked in a run — the second straight start he’s done that. That’s a first in his career.
So is this: 13 runs allowed over his last 10 innings and a walk rate that just keeps ticking upward.
Need some historical perspective? His 6.65 ERA is his worst over a four-start span to open a season since 2019 (7.45). It’s his worst four-game stretch at any point in a season since Sept. 2–20 of last year, when he posted a 6.86 ERA. And walking in a run in back-to-back starts? That’s a brand-new entry in the Aaron Nola trivia file.
Nola has always been a rhythm pitcher, someone who thrives when his delivery is repeatable and the command is crisp.
Right now? He’s out of sync — and it’s showing up in all the wrong ways. “He just didn’t look comfortable out there,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “We’ve seen him work through stretches like this before. He’ll bounce back.”
The next chance comes Monday night in Queens against the Mets. If the Phillies are going to navigate the early bumps in the rotation, they’ll need Nola to find more than just his fastball. They’ll need him to find himself again.
